


More than childhood friends

by ShinMeiko



Series: What if multiverse [20]
Category: Love Simon (2018), Simonverse | Creekwood Series - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29449710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinMeiko/pseuds/ShinMeiko
Summary: Sharing an intense first kiss under the rain is quite epic.Until you get a cold the next day.Sequel of 'Chapter 58 - What if they were childhood friends?' in my 'what if' series.
Relationships: Bram Greenfeld/Simon Spier
Series: What if multiverse [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1373731
Comments: 23
Kudos: 49





	More than childhood friends

**Author's Note:**

> This was your second choice for a sequel I should write. Here it finally is :)

I can’t believe today. I _literally_ can't believe today. Blue. Bram. Can it get more perfect than this? We kissed. We said we love each other.

Whenever I close my eyes, I feel his lips against mine, his arms around me, the rain on my skin, and it makes me feel all the butterflies. Maybe even more than when it happened for real. I’m so giddy.

I told my parents that Bram was home and that he was safe, and when my parents asked me why I looked so happy, I told them that Bram and I were friends again. Which… I know I will have to come out to them eventually, especially since Bram and I decided to officially be boyfriends, and I said I would go to prom with him… I just wasn’t ready.

I kept begging Blue to meet, and it felt like I was so ahead of him, how am I this late now? And nervous? I know my parents will be fine with me being gay, and I know they love Bram, but… it’s still not something I wanted to share then.

I want to keep that evening just to myself a little while longer. I want to close my eyes and relive that kiss over and over again.

My fingers fly up to my lips like I’m in a bad rom-com. I wish I were still out there, in Bram’s arms, fighting the cold by holding him as close as I could…

And I still can’t get over the fact that Bram is Blue. Part of me is a little annoyed that we couldn’t just talk to each other and sort this mess ages ago. How long have we been pining for each other in real life? But I am mostly grateful. We were almost going to go through high school without ever knowing what a great thing we could have had just because we were both too scared, and then Jacques and Blue happened. As if the universe was determined to bring us together, whatever it took.

There is a sound on my window. Like… Pebbles?

I get to my window and the butterflies double. “Bram? What are you doing here?”

He looks at me, hands in his pockets, a slightly proud smile on his face. “I just thought now that we’re _friends_ again, I should sneak back in. Like when we were kids and we were told to go back home, but we never _actually_ did.”

“Oh… so that’s your excuse for sneaking into my room after dark,” I tease him.

His smile grows less confident. “Said like that, it sounds… It’s not… Am I being presumptuous?”

“Oh, please. As if I have been thinking about anything but you since you left my car.”

His smile is now back in full force. “Do you think I can still climb that?”

“Why? Are you afraid that now that you’re on the soccer team you’re actually less in shape than you used to be?”

“No. I’m afraid that it was sixty pounds ago and that this won’t hold my weight anymore.”

Oh. He might have a point. “I’ll come down and open the garden door for you.”

“Should we at least try? It’s a steady trellis and I used to be very good at this.”

I nod. I know Bram isn’t an idiot. Any sign that he can’t do this and he’ll stop. I’m still a bit nervous as he climbs up but less than a minute later, he is climbing through the window, just like when we were younger.

I didn’t really move away from the window, so Bram’s body is really close to mine. His smile is less proud and softer now. I know he feels all the things I’m feeling. It’s Bram. It’s Blue. I know him so well. And yet it feels like I am discovering him.

His hand gently flies up to ever so softly run against my cheek.

“I can’t believe I’m allowed to do this,” he says, some awe in his voice.

“You’re allowed to do a bit more,” I reply. A mischievous spark grows in his eyes and he leans in. I meet him halfway and we are kissing again. It’s different, here, in the warmth of my bedroom. Less intense, less dramatic, but more comforting, more intimate. Definitely just as good.

The world doesn’t smell like rain and petrichor. It smells like soap from the showers we both took to warm ourselves, it smells like Bram and I didn’t realize until now that I know how he smells, it smells like happiness.

“It was worth the risk,” Bram jokes softly as we pull apart slightly. I smile and rest my forehead against his. His hand lands on the back of my neck and pulls me back in.

I’m not gonna lie. It feels like letting go of years of frustrations. I’m not even upset that we could have had it all this time. It doesn’t matter. Because we can have it now.

He pulls me even closer and the kiss gets deeper. A bit hungrier too, in a way.

“Bram…”

He pulls back further this time and looks at me, a question in his eyes, looking for any sign of discomfort. “Too fast?”

“No. It’s really not that. It’s just… I have to tell you something before I get too caught up in the moment.”

“Okay.” His eyes are so gentle. I feel… I don’t even know how that makes me feel. But it’s definitely good.

“My parents asked about you, and… I told us we are friends again. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? About what?”

“I think we should have talked about this. We said we’d go to prom together, but I’m not even out to my parents, and I know you’re out to your mother, but… I don’t know if you want her to know about us, and…”

Bram seems uncomfortable, suddenly. “Simon, I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“Whatever for?”

“When I got home earlier… My mom said she’d like us to be friends again. The actual phrase she used was ‘kiss and make up’, and… I told her. It slipped. You’re out at school so I completely forgot that you haven’t told your parents, and… That’s actually what I came here to tell you. Before I got caught up in the moment myself.”

“Here we are then. Blue ready to face the world and me pulling us back. The tables have turned, haven’t they?”

“Is that really how you feel?”

He looks so guilty that it physically hurts me.

“Bram, I’m not blaming you. You have no idea how proud I am that you would want to tell your mother about ut. But… I don’t want to be that guy for you. The scared one that keeps you in the closet.”

“You’re not. I have made both of us so unhappy for so long. I can wait a little longer if you want to pause the whole boyfriends thing.”

“I don’t. Please.”

“ _Please_? Simon, in which world do you have to beg me to stay with you. If all we have are stolen minutes when I climb up a potentially dangerous trellis, I’ll still take it.”

“It’s not what I’m offering you, I promise. We can tell our friends, we can go on dates, we can go to Prom like we talked about. I just need a few more days to tell my family. Especially now that I’m not just coming out as gay, I’m also coming out as your boyfriend… they know you… It’s like an added pressure. Is that okay?”

“Anything you need, Simon. But..; don’t let me, or us, put any pressure on you, okay?”

I nod. Bram isn’t putting any kind of pressure on me. I’m the one pressuring myself. I just never thought that when Blue would be ready for me, I’d be the one not quite ready for us.

Bram kisses me right above the eyebrow. “Stop frowning. It’s going to be just fine, I promise.”

I smile up at him. Of course, it will! It’s Bram. When I look at him, I know how to find all my courage and all my confidence.

“Would you be there with me? When I tell them?”

“If that helps you. Are you sure it’s fine that I told my mom?”

“It is!”

“And I’ll tell her not to tell anyone.”

“Is it okay that I haven’t told my parents yet?”

“It’s fine, I promise.” Bram glances at my alarm and sighs. “I should probably go back home.”

“And risk falling down? No, I think you should stay a bit longer.”

“Because the trellis will be safer later?”

“Because I can sneak you out when my parents are in bed,” I reply.

Bram shrugs. “I’ll take any excuse to stay a bit longer,” he replies.

When we kiss again, all my uncertainties and nervousness fade away. I know I’ll be fine facing anything. Because this feeling now is worth anything. And the thing is: I know my parents will be fine with everything. It’s stage fright more than actual fear. And I don’t want to hide my relationship with Bram from anyone because of stage fright.

When I wake up, I feel terrible. My head is hurting, my throat feels tight, and my nose is blocked.

Ugh.

I get downstairs with my comforter around my shoulders. “Mom?”

She comes out of the kitchen where she was probably making breakfast, like she does every Saturday, but I can’t tell, because I can’t smell anything.

“Simon. You look terrible.”

“Thanks, Mom. Thanks to your support, I feel much better already…”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot. Men and illnesses. I’ll ask Bram’s mom to come to have a look at you.”

“Mom, she’s an epidemiologist. Unless I get the plague, I don’t really think she cares.”

“Of course, she cares. She watched you grow up. You and Bram are a bit like brothers.”

“No, we’re not.” Please, Mom, don’t put creepy ideas in my head.

She frowns. “I thought you two were friends again.”

“We are. But that doesn’t make him my brother.”

“Fine. It will take time, I get it.”

Now would be a good time to tell her that if I have no problems seeing Nick as my brother, but that Bram will never be in that category. She’ll probably ask me why and then I can just come out with it without forcing it.

Good plan.

But then I start coughing and she leaves to get her phone. Raincheck on coming out, I guess.

She comes back a minute later. “She says that you and Bram probably caught something yesterday. He is sick too.”

“Is he alright?”

“Same as you. She has to go to work and she doesn’t want to leave him alone so I offered to have him here. Is that alright with you?”

“Yes.” I’m sorry that Bram is ill, truly. But I am looking forward to spending the day with him.

“Great. I’ll make one more plate. She said she would bring him over with some medicine for the two of you.”

I nod and get back up to put the comforter back on my bed. It’s comfy but that’s not really how I want Bram to see me when he arrives.

I hear a knock on my door and my dad is there with a pillow and a blanket.

“Dad?”

“It’s for Bram. We’ll get the camp bed out, what do you think? You boys will probably sleep a lot today, and since you’re talking again, I thought you’d like him here with you rather than in the guest room?”

“I do.” I absolutely do. Even if, to be fair, we could have managed with just one bed. I obviously don’t say that. That would be a terrible way to come out.

Ten minutes later, Bram and his mother are here. First, we all have breakfast together. I can tell from the way she looks at me that Bram’s mom knows about us and that she is happy about it. But Bram probably talked to her because she doesn’t say anything.

Bram looks tired and I really want to wrap him in something soft and warm until he feels better. It’s almost enough to make me forget that I feel like crap myself. Bram’s mother gives us instructions for the day, my mom forces food on us, and my dad gets the living room ready for a comfy movie session. Nora decides that she doesn’t want to take any risks and she leaves to meet her friends right after breakfast.

“Hey, you two, behave,” Bram’s mother warns before leaving for work. “No germs spreading. Doors open, no drinking from the same bottle, no funny business.”

My parents look slightly confused and Bram looks mortified. I have no idea what I look like. His mother looks satisfied, though, and she leaves.

We spend the rest of the morning watching Avengers with my dad. He comments that I never wanted to watch it before. I shrug it off. I don’t care about it that much. But I know that Bram likes it.

At some point, I feel Bram’s hand slide under my blanket and our fingers link together, hidden from the world. It’s almost nothing but it feels like the world. A way for us to connect because now that we’re allowed, we can’t stay apart. I really want to slide closer and snuggle up against him. Even if my dad is here.

But I don’t want to make him sicker, and I think I have a fever. I might be a bit sweaty.

My mom brings us some soup for lunch and I have never been so grateful for healthy food before.

Then we’re both tired and we get to my room for a nap. It’s not code for anything. We both lie in different beds and fall asleep pretty much immediately.

When I wake up, I feel so much better already. My head is just vaguely hurting, my throat feels fine, and although I have a runny nose, I can breathe through it again.

I also notice that in my sleep, I have let my hand fall from my bed and Bram, in his own sleep, has taken it.

It makes me feel warm and giddy – it seems that those are the feelings taking over my life and I am more than fine with that – that even asleep we have been seeking and finding one another.

I take a moment to look at his hand curled up in mine. Then I look at his perfect face. I can tell that he’s ill, but he is still more handsome than ever.

I really want to lean over and wake him with a kiss, but I let him sleep. Besides, I don’t know if his mother was serious about making each other sicker. I still run my fingers in his hair.

My bedroom door opens and my mother pops her head in, probably to check on how we’re doing, and I freeze. If me holding Bram’s hand and leaning forward to brush his hair wasn’t telling enough, I’m sure my mortified look would be.

There is nothing but surprise on her face. She mumbles an apology and leaves.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. This is _not_ how it was supposed to happen!

I slowly detach my hand from Bram’s, leave the room on my tiptoes, and get downstairs to talk to my mother. She is in the kitchen, apparently getting dinner ready.

“Mom?”

“Oh, hi sweetie. Bram will still be with us tonight so I am making lasagna. I thought it would be good comfort food.”

“Mom, can we please talk about it.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Simon… this was yours to share with me, not mine to discover. I am sorry, I just wanted…” She genuinely seems very upset.

“Mom, you did nothing wrong. And… I should have told you. About me, when I found out, about Bram… I just didn’t know how.”

“So. You and Bram, huh?” I nod. “How long has it been going on?”

“Twenty-four hours? Give or take a few minutes.”

“So… you’re not really _friends_ again, are you?”

“Nope.”

“And he definitely isn’t like your brother.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Are you happy?”

“I am.”

“Then we’ll talk about it later. When you’re better and when your… boyfriend… isn’t here. Okay?”

“Sure. Will you tell dad?”

“If you want me to.”

“No. I’d like to do it myself.”

“Of course. How about we make some honey tea for your throat and you bring up a cup to Bram? We shouldn’t let him sleep too late.”

“That sounds nice.”

“Oh, and Simon?”

“Yes?”

“Door open, okay?”

“Sure.”

When I get back up, I don’t have to wake Bram. He is sitting on the bed, looking at his phone.

“Hey. What are you doing?”

“Canceling my plans with Garrett for tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m the one who got us under the rain. Which, by the way, got me a solid ‘I told you so’ from my mom this morning. Which I deserved, I guess. And I’m sorry. It was my fault. I didn't want to make you sick."

"I know. And it wasn't your fault, Bram. Plus, it's just a cold."

"Yeah, but I didn't want our story to start like this."

"At least we'll have something to tell when people ask us how we got together."

"Sure. Because Jacques and Blue, you rescuing me in the park, me climbing to your room… wasn't any of that enough?"

"We just made it a bit more epic. Or cute. Or pathetic, but let's not go there. Oh, and my mom made us some honey tea."

"Thanks."

"How are you feeling? I’m a bit better.”

“Me too.”

“Good. Now come on here. My bed is more comfortable.”

Bram takes his tea and we sit side to side, back against the wall, my crossed legs brushing against Bram’s stretched legs, our shoulders barely touching. We talk about having another movie night with our friends, one where we would be boyfriends. I add that we should maybe not invite Anna or Cal, and Bram says that if they are fine with us being a couple, he doesn’t mind. I love that after all the insecurities we both felt, we can so easily feel secure about whatever is happening between us. Then we talk a little about what happened with his father and Bram says that he isn’t so upset now. He made his peace a long time ago with the fact that although his father didn’t leave him, he definitely left him behind. Then I tell him what my mother saw and what she said. He doesn’t seem too bothered to have been found out. I get it. I didn’t mind his mom knowing. It’s different when it’s our parents, I guess.

“And your dad?”

“I want to tell him. Tonight. If that’s fine with you?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I thought maybe being found out sleeping and holding hands with me would be enough awkward for one day.”

“Lucky for me, I slept through the entre awkward part. But I’ll go through all the awkward coming outs we’ll have to do. Just so I can call you mine.”

I lean forward to kiss him but stop myself just on time. He gently grabs my chin and pulls me back in.

“Bram, maybe we shouldn’t.”

“Okay, not only is it unlikely that we will relapse because of this, I also think it would be worth it. Don’t you?”

I absolutely do. So I close the gap between us and I kiss him. We keep it short, but it’s enough to wake up butterflies and warm feelings.

My dad seems pretty excited to have Bram at home and it makes me think about what my mom said earlier. About our Bram’s mom saw me grow up so she cares about me. It only occurs to me now that my parents probably care a lot about Bram and are happy that he’s back in their lives.

We are almost done with my mom’s quite amazing lasagna when my dad asks: “So, Bram. What’s new in your life?”

Bram and my mom both glance in my direction. “The soccer team is doing well,” Bram says.

“I know. We still go to every one of your games. Officially, we’re cheering for Nick, but we’re also cheering for you. Hopefully, now we can make it official too.”

“Dad, I know that Bram and I weren’t… close friends lately, but we were never on bad terms. You could cheer for him. I did.”

“You did?” Bram asks me with a pleased smile and I shrug, probably blushing. How did I not see what was right in front of me for so long?

“Sorted then. We’ll be cheering right next to your mother at all your games.”

“Thank you, Mr. Spier.”

“And any special girl in your life?”

“Hum… no, no girls.”

“Really, boys. I talked to Nick a few days ago and he told me about that girl he invited to Prom. And no one in sight for any of you.”

“I…” Bram glances at me, looking a bit nervous, and then offers half a truth. “I am taking someone to Prom actually.”

“But you said… _Oh._ Is he a nice boy?”

“The nicest,” Bram replies, fueling the warm feeling and feeding the butterflies.

“Anyone I know?” My dad asks.

“Me,” I reply. Apparently, I am learning how to seize opportunities when they present themselves. “Bram is going to Prom with me.”

My dad stays silent for a moment and my heart is beating so loudly that I can almost hear it. Then he looks at Bram and says, “Can I tell you a secret?” Bram nods, and my dad says: “When you were children, all running around the house… You were my favorite. I know I’m not supposed to have a favorite, but you were. After Simon, of course. And when you were little, before school sorted you all in very neat categories, I have thought once or twice that you were a lovely boy, that you would make some girl very happy someday, and that I wouldn’t be upset if that happened to be Alice. Or even Nora. But this is much better.”

“It is?” I ask.

“I didn’t see it coming,” my dad replies. “But you two… there was always something in your temperaments… you just went along so well. It made me sad when you stopped being friends with Bram because… you just didn’t smile as often as you used to anymore.”

“That’s true,” my mom confirms with a weird smile.

“Hopefully there will be more smiling now,” my dad says.

I look at Bram and I feel the corners of my mouth automatically move up. I think my dad might be right on this one.

My dad is already asking us if we’re planning on wearing matching outfits. I almost can’t believe how easy this has been. I take a moment to enjoy this feeling. I am out. To my friends and my family (well… I still have to tell my sisters but that doesn’t seem scary at all). I managed to score both Blue _and_ Bram. I have a Prom date (not that I cared that much, but now that I have one it feels like the greatest news). It’s like all the weights on my chest have been lifted.

I have the greatest boyfriend I could have hoped for and I simply can’t stop smiling.

“Bram, is your mother working tomorrow?” my mother asks.

“No. So even if I’m still unwell, I won’t be an imposition again.”

“You could never be an imposition, and I have a feeling that, ill or not, we are going to see a lot more of you from now on. But I thought it would be nice to have your mother over for lunch.”

“I’m sure she would love it.”

“Great. Then we’ll have a chance to discuss rules.”

“Rules?” I ask.

“Rules,” she confirms. “About closed doors, curfews, using the hole in the fence rather than the front door, climbing on my trellis… that sort of things.”

She doesn’t mean last night, right?

Anyway. Her words could be scary, but when Bram and I glance at each other, I don’t mind. I’m still too happy about this. He was right. This is worth having to go through any awkwardness.

Just like earlier under the blanket, my fingers find his under the table.

Maybe after dinner, while we wait for his mother to be back from the hospital, we can go to my room, door open, and cuddle for a while. I’m sure I’d love that. I think he would too.


End file.
